Hanabusa-yama, the key in the birth of Japan’s porcelain industry
Arita is known as the birthplace of Japan’s porcelain industry. The history of Arita began in the early 17th century with the discovery of the porcelain stone in Izumi-yama.
Izumi-yama porcelain stone contains all the necessary minerals to make porcelain products.
In other words, it is an ideal stone as there is no need to mix other minerals in producing porcelain items. There are only two quarries in the world that mine porcelain stone containing necessary minerals for making porcelain products. Both quarries are located in Japan, but Izumi-yama was the first to be discovered.As a result, Izumi-yama gave birth to the town of Arita and to the porcelain industry in Japan.
The photo of the right side is a mountain nearby Izumi-yama called Hanabusa-yama.Hanabusa-yama was the key which turned Izumi-yama into a mountain of porcelain stone.
This is how it happened…
About 2.5 million years ago, magma rose melting the crust of Izumi-yama and finally turned it into rhyolite.Through the vertical intrusion of rhyolite, hot water of 300 degrees Celsius rose at the same time.Then, Hanabusa-yama erupted.
Its’ lava poured out towards Izumi-yama and completely covered it, functioning like a lid of a pot. In the pot, Izumi-yama’s rhyolite and the hot water was boiled for tens of thousands of years.Eventually, the rhyolite was whitened and had been chemically changed into an ideal porcelain stone.
Therefore, without Hanabusa-yama, Izumi-yama would not have become a porcelain stone mountain.
So, it can be said that Hanabusa-yama was the key behind the birth of Arita and Japan’s porcelain industry.
(KH)
